Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is in confident mood ahead of the draw for the Champions League quarter-finals, claiming that the Merseysiders are now the team that everyone else would like to avoid.
The Reds certainly made the rest of the continent sit up and take notice of them when they destroyed Real Madrid 5-0 over two legs, including a 4-0 battering at Anfield, and Gerrard believes that Rafa Benitez's men now have a sharp psychological edge over everyone else in the tournament.
"We are not running scared of anybody, we will take who we get and believe that we are going to go through," the England international told Setanta Sports News.
"If you are asking me about a fear factor in the Champions League, then I think it is the other seven teams in the draw who are going to have concerns about coming up against us after that Real Madrid result.
"The way I look at it, we are going to have to play them sooner or later, so it does not matter if it is now, the semi-finals or the final."
Liverpool also destroyed domestic rivals Manchester United 4-1 at Old Trafford at the weekend, and that result has amply demonstrated that the Real result was no fluke, Gerrard believes, as it has shown the world of just what the club are capable of when 'pulling together'.
"We are now looking forward to the draw later this week," he added.
"If you could hand-pick an opponent then maybe we would want someone like Villarreal or Porto, but there are no easy draws at this stage.
"Everyone who has got to this stage of the competition has done well. They will all believe in themselves.
"But we have shown - the players, the manager and the fans - that we are a force to be reckoned with when we pull it all together. So we will sit down on Friday and see who we get and take it from there."
Fear Factor
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is in confident mood ahead of the draw for the Champions League quarter-finals, claiming that the Merseysiders are now the team that everyone else would like to avoid.
The Reds certainly made the rest of the continent sit up and take notice of them when they destroyed Real Madrid 5-0 over two legs, including a 4-0 battering at Anfield, and Gerrard believes that Rafa Benitez's men now have a sharp psychological edge over everyone else in the tournament.
"We are not running scared of anybody, we will take who we get and believe that we are going to go through," the England international told Setanta Sports News.
"If you are asking me about a fear factor in the Champions League, then I think it is the other seven teams in the draw who are going to have concerns about coming up against us after that Real Madrid result.
"The way I look at it, we are going to have to play them sooner or later, so it does not matter if it is now, the semi-finals or the final."
Liverpool also destroyed domestic rivals Manchester United 4-1 at Old Trafford at the weekend, and that result has amply demonstrated that the Real result was no fluke, Gerrard believes, as it has shown the world of just what the club are capable of when 'pulling together'.
"We are now looking forward to the draw later this week," he added.
"If you could hand-pick an opponent then maybe we would want someone like Villarreal or Porto, but there are no easy draws at this stage.
"Everyone who has got to this stage of the competition has done well. They will all believe in themselves.
"But we have shown - the players, the manager and the fans - that we are a force to be reckoned with when we pull it all together. So we will sit down on Friday and see who we get and take it from there."
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